Extremadura.gov switches onto Linux

The Spanish region of Extremadura has pledged to move all government computers onto open source software within the next year. Officials will be mandated to use the open document format standard for office communications over the same time frame.

Extremadura, Spain's poorest region, has been a supporter of open source software for some time. In 2002, it migrated 70,000 desktops and 400 servers in schools across the region onto a customised version of gnuLinEx Debian, saving an estimated €18m.

By adopting the same operating system on civil service computers, alongside open source office application suites, Extremadura hopes to save more still. IT firms Intel and Bull have pledged to support the scheme.

The Extremaduran government didn't say how many systems would be involved in the project, which will ease future IT systems planning as well as reducing costs.

Luis Millán de Vázquez de Miguel, the government official in charge for the development of infrastructure and technology in Extremadura, explained that the region will "no longer be so exposed to the problems caused by forced migrations" after it completely embraces open source technology, Techworld reports. ®